Intermediaries

Intermediaries looking for a Discretionary Manager

Raymond James is one step ahead of the debate surrounding the FCA’s guidelines for ‘off-the-shelf discretionary fund management solutions’. We already have the agreements and processes in place to support professional intermediaries introducing business to our discretionary investment managers.

These professional intermediaries, such as financial advisers, accountants or solicitors, are an important source of client referrals for Raymond James branches. We have developed reporting tools, client documentation and payment processing procedures to assist with these introducer relationships and to help the intermediaries stay informed about the status of their clients’ portfolios.

Introducer Agreement & Introducer Terms of Business

The Introducer Agreement, in conjunction with the Introducer Terms of Business, form the contract between the professional intermediary and Raymond James. This contract clarifies the services each party provides as well as roles and responsibilities, and also confirms procedures for facilitating payments that have been agreed between intermediaries and their clients.

Initial adviser charge

Subject to instruction by the client, intermediaries may receive a percentage of a client’s initial investment, which will be agreed on a case by case basis. The Raymond James discretionary investment manager will determine when the initial investment has been received and will instruct Raymond James to debit the account.

On-going adviser charge

Subject to instruction by the client, Raymond James can facilitate the ongoing adviser charge, calculated as a percentage of the client’s discretionary portfolio. A remittance statement is produced and posted to the intermediary whenever monies are due to be paid, which includes a breakdown of the payment on client level.

Investor Access
Intermediaries can also view their clients’ accounts on Investor Access, our secure on-line reporting tool. The system enables intermediaries to view clients’ holdings, valued at the previous day’s closing price, detailed at both the account level and the consolidated total as well as transaction information for the last two years, including any cash transactions such as buys and sells, cash dividends and cash transfers.

Taking Raymond James Public

When consideration was being given to taking Raymond James public, Tom James penned a letter to shareholders (largely employees at the time).
He wrote:

” … the public offering should be considered as a statement of our independence. While this is a psychological rather than an economic rationale, it is nonetheless very important. We have asserted for some time that we are not interested in becoming a small part of a very large corporation. That assertion results mainly from the inclinations of management rather than the economic benefits associated with either alternative. The public stock offering affords us the opportunity to enjoy a little bit of the best of both worlds. While shareholders will be given liquidity at fair market value, we will still have the ability to control our own destiny.”

After 40+ years of Tom’s leadership, upon becoming CEO, Paul Reilly was often questioned about whether the company might ultimately surrender its cherished independence and be acquired by some larger entity. His response: “Not while I’m around.” It’s a theme that continues today.

Black Monday

On 19 October 1987, the stock markets experienced a dramatic plunge that prompted many firms to shut down their trading desks and turn off their phones to minimize internal losses. Raymond James refused to do the same. Our desks stayed open to help meet clients’ needs, resulting in our first and only unprofitable quarter since the firm went public in 1983.

Who was Raymond James?

The Raymond in our name is actually from Edward Raymond, owner of a 15-employee mutual fund sales group, Raymond and Associates, along Florida’s west coast. He sold his company to Bob James on 15 July 1964, on condition that the surviving firm be called Raymond, James & Associates.

Bear Market of 1974

The severe bear market of 1974 threatened the existence of Raymond James, which was bleeding capital by the day. Tom James, his father and other leaders took extreme measures to keep the firm afloat, slashing costs, foregoing paychecks and even attempting to sell the firm for just enough capital to protect client assets and retain as many associates as possible. The story could have ended very differently if not for a sharp upturn and continued rebound in the stock markets late in the year.
This “fortunate near-death experience” (as Tom calls it) permanently marked his psyche, and has influenced our firm’s character and culture since, solidifying the conservative nature that emphasizes a determined focus on the long term – both for clients and the firm.